Summer snaps: How to make the best photo books online

They say that light is a photographer’s best friend, but when too much is on the scene things can take a turn for the difficult.

This is what the topic of today’s post is going to talk about. If you are looking to put together photo books online for your summer adventures, it goes without saying that you need to manage the light accordingly.

Through the remainder of this guide, we will now take a look at the top suggestions which can help you achieve this.

Make sure your subject doesn’t face the sun

There are a lot of different viewpoints on this first issue. We’ve already talked about the importance of light, but when said light is shining right into the face of your subject things get very difficult indeed. It’s hard for the subject to glare at the camera properly (there’s lots of squinting, for a start), and in general the photo seems to have required a lot of “effort” just to keep a pose.

As such, your first rule should be making sure the sun is coming from behind them. As this means that little light is cast onto their face, you should look to use exposure compensation in a bid to remove this.

All of the above should keep the main bulk of the photo light, whilst also making it much easier for your subject to face the camera.

Use the environment to your advantage

This next suggestion is all about reflections, and how you can really tap into them to your advantage. Anything light in your picture, whether it’s a white van or white sand, can act as a reflector. If your subject is stood close to this reflector, it immediately means that their face is going to light up much more.

Of course, you need to invest a little time in positioning them accordingly for this tactic. However, if you have carried out the advice documented in the first suggestion, this can work wonders as it provides some brightness for your subject’s face without them having to directly face the sun to obtain it.

Don’t be afraid of going for black and white

Some people are under the assumption that you should always use the natural vibrant light to your full advantage. Whilst this is true to an extent, you don’t always have to shoot in full color. What we mean is that there are cases when black and white shots can really help make a photo stand out.

For example, shadows suddenly take on a much different purpose. They provide immense distinction to photos, rather than distracting the eye in a standard shot.

Of course, there really is a time and a place for this. You still have to manage your shadows accordingly, and make sure that “bad light” isn’t going to affect your final shot. If you’re feeling particularly experimental, the results from black and white photos in the summer can be surprisingly exciting though.